Audrey Winstead is growing up the daughter of a Green Beret learning the values that shape her father’s life.
“I grew up watching him do these amazing things,” said the Goliad High School senior. “I know what service and sacrifice means.”
Now she wants to do something to help the soldiers of this elite division of the U.S. Army.
On Oct. 22, she is coordinating a 5K run in Goliad to benefit the Green Beret Foundation. This nationwide foundation specifically helps Green Berets “by connecting them with the right resources to prosper and thrive,” according to information provided by the San Antonio foundation.
They offer support not just to the soldiers but their families as well.
"While the Green Beret Foundation will continue to focus on our wounded, their families, and the families of our fallen, we are working to broaden our impact into addressing the needs of Green Berets as they transition back into civilian life.”
Their mission, she said, is important to her as Ty Winstead, her father, retires soon after 20 years of service.
“It is my senior year and I wanted to see what I could do to help this organization,” she said. “Goliad has a bike ride but we don’t have a 5K run.”
Combine that idea with the picturesque landscape and historical sites, and she thought, “Let’s do something so that people from out of town will come and see the scenery.”
The run begins and ends at Branch River Park just south of downtown. The course will take runners past the mission with a turnaround at the presidio back to the park.
Registration is $35 and includes a T-shirt for the event. While runners can still register the day of the race for a $40 fee, those wishing to ensure they receive a T-shirt should get their name down by Oct. 1.
Even those who don’t wish to run can support her effort. A link is online at www.facebook.com/goliadgreenberet5K to make a donation, register or both for those who want to ensure she makes her goal of raising $5,000.
This is likely the biggest event Winstead has coordinated on her own but what she learned from her parents has helped her make it possible.
“He taught me to never give up,” she said. "Dad taught me to never give up but mom (Angie Winstead) taught me strength. I watched her incredible strength and her leadership roles as a mother with a deployed husband.”
Growing up in the military wasn’t always easy. Audrey lived in four states – Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee and Texas moving mostly in her younger years.
“For me it was normal,” she said. “I would not change it. It made me who I am.”
She recalls her father serving nine deployments lasting from seven to nine months each.
“Usually he would be back for a few months and would be called back,” she said. “He worked so hard for it and that is why he was able to earn that beret.”
Both will be running the 5K alongside what she hopes is at least 100 others.
But who will win between the two?
“Probably me,” she said adding that her father is close to retirement.
Editor’s note: This is not a Goliad school district sponsored event.
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